Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The amendments that I will be tabling in the Dáil arise from the debate in the Seanad. I therefore hope I have benefitted from the expertise of Members of this House. I have the greatest of respect for the Seanad and, as Senator Quinn said, I served here for five years. The expertise here will certainly feed into the amendments I will bring to the Dáil. The Bill will come back here because it has been initiated here.

My concern with specifying the levels on the National Qualifications Framework, as proposed in these amendments, is that one would be putting the specific levels into primary legislation, whereas in the legislation on the framework itself that is not done. If we put in the specific levels, therefore, and if somehow or other they change in any way - if, for example, further levels are established, which could well happen in future - we will have stitched in specific numbers concerning levels 7, 8, 9 and 10 in this legislation. If the QQI levels change for any reason, which they could do in future in terms of classification, we would then have to amend this legislation.

The Bill identifies that a body has to have reached a certain level in the Irish qualifications framework in order to qualify to call itself a university abroad. While this relates to the previous amendment, the awarding bodies of institutions that would be entitled to call themselves universities abroad have to have the power to award degrees at doctoral level in Ireland. We are therefore talking about a narrow range of institutions. They must currently, or at a particular time, have the power to award at doctoral level under our qualifications framework - not anybody else's qualifications framework. I wish to be clear on that.

I cannot accept these amendments because we would be stitching in the actual current levels at which doctorates, for example, are awarded. That could change, however, in terms of the qualifications framework in future.